Avery's penalty shot sparks four-goal second period by Rangers

Henrik Lundqvist had baited Sean Avery, and it paid off with a penalty-shot goal yesterday.

"I challenged him a couple times in practice and told him he would never do a move like that in a game," Lundqvist said after the Rangers' 5-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning, "but he did today. It was awesome."

Avery's goal at 1:40 of the second period not only cut into a two-goal deficit but served as a spark. Vinny Prospal scored on a four-on-four at 6:07, his third straight game with a goal, and Erik Christensen had two goals in a span of 1:46 as the Rangers scored four times in the period.

Chris Drury added an empty-net goal with 15 seconds left in the third period for the Rangers, who have won two straight and three of four as they enter the Olympic break.

Avery's hustle forced defenseman Kurtis Foster to pull him down, drawing a penalty shot against goaltender Mike Smith.

Avery, who had scored only once in the previous 19 games, coolly started wide on his backhand, cut to the middle and drew Smith way out and to his right. Smith chose to dive toward Avery, who, from a sharp angle 14 feet away, fired it into the top right corner of the net for his seventh goal of the season.

"Once I saw him take it wide and I saw where Smith was, I didn't think there was any chance," coach John Tortorella said. "But give him credit; it was a great shot and it got us right back into the game."

With leading scorer Marian Gaborik and defenseman Michael Del Zotto injured, the Rangers began sluggishly, allowing two goals in a 90-second span late in the first period.

"After the first period, we weren't very happy with the way we played," said Christensen, who assisted on Prospal's goal for a three-point afternoon, his most productive game as a Ranger. "We came out with a big effort in the second."

Christensen, claimed off waivers from Anaheim on Dec. 2, has been immensely valuable as a playmaker after a rocky start. "I did a few things that I wanted to improve on," he said. "The last home game, I had a lot of chances to shoot from where I scored my first goal. Torts wanted me to, instead of looking for passes, and shoot for rebounds, and obviously, he was right."

Christensen just missed a hat trick when he hit the post in the third. "You get one, you crave more," he said. "It's like a drug."

Tortorella said Christensen is becoming more consistent in his play and has tremendous skills. He put him in lofty company, saying of his second goal: "There's only one other person on his team who can do that, and that's Gaborik, as far as getting from backhand to forehand and putting it in the top corner.''

Lundqvist - one of five Rangers headed to Vancouver - has allowed seven goals in his last four games. He stopped all 22 shots in the final two periods, including critical ones on Steve Downie just before the penalty shot and Martin St. Louis just before Prospal's tying goal.

Tortorella, an assistant coach for Team USA, said the break will refresh the Rangers, who are tied with Tampa Bay for ninth in the East with 63 points, one point out of a playoff spot.

"We got some tired guys," he said. "I'm sick of looking at them and I'm sure they're sick of looking at me. That's healthy. It's not an easy ride when you're not winning. I'm glad they're going out on a good note."